A YouTube survival challenge turned into a real-life emergency after a contestant vanished for nearly 18 hours in the Michigan wilderness before being found safe, authorities said. The 36-year-old Californian woman was last seen leaving the show’s base camp around 5 p.m. on Sept. 5 to search for water. When she failed to return, organizers launched their own search before calling police at 5 a.m. the following morning. The coordinated operation unfolded in Pigeon River State Forest in Charlton Township, a sprawling, swampy landscape still scarred by a freak ice storm in March. Michigan State Police deployed canine teams and a helicopter, with Trooper 6 ultimately spotting the missing woman deep in the forest at 10:40 a.m. “Troopers from the Michigan State Police (MSP) Gaylord Post responded … to assist the Otsego County Sheriff’s Office in locating a 36-year-old woman missing from California,” police said on X. “At approximately 10:40 a.m. Trooper 6 located the missing woman and directed the canine units to her. Law enforcement officers and firefighters were able to walk her out of the woods safely.” She endured rain and cold but managed to walk out under her own power. EMS released her with no serious injuries.
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